Archives

1) What do the crowds do, specifically, when they are told that Oceania is not at war with Eurasia, but is at war with Eastasia?

There was tremedous commotion. The citizens realized that the banners and posters that were put up all over the square were wrong. Have of the posters had the wrong faces on them.”There was a riotous interlude while posters were ripped from the walls.”Banners were torn apart and sampled on.

2) In a paragraph, describe what the employees at the Record Department have to do with this new information?

The employees at the Record department have to rectify report and records of all kinds, newpapers, books, pamphlets, films, sound tracks, and photographs at lightning speed. All the people in the Rocrds department had to work eighteen hours in the twenty-four, with three two-hour snatches of sleep.

3) What is an oligarchy?

An oligarchy is a small group of people who control and run a particular country or organization.

4) Who is the author of the book?

Goldstein

The Book: (Remember when you are reading this challenging part of the book, that it is describing the years leading up to and including Winston’s world in 1984 and not our world today.)

5) What is a hierarchy?

A system or organization in which people or groups are ranked one above the other according to status or authority.The upper echelons of a hierarchical system; those in authority.

p.193 What countries comprise the three super-states? (p193) Find a picture of the territories on the internet and insert it here:

Eurasia comprises the whole of the Northern part of the European and Asiatic land-mass. Oceania comprises the Americas. Eastasia comprises China and the countries to the south of it.

6) How long have the super-states been at war? (p193)

The three super-states are permanentely at war and have been for the past 25 years.

7) What are the 3 things that make this war different from others in the past? (p193)

It is a warfare of limited aims between combatants who are unable to to destroy one another, have no material cause for fighting and are not divided

8) Where does the fight take place? Are there many casualties? (p193)

The fight takes place on vague frontiers whose whereabouts the average man can only guess at or, “round the Floating Fortress which guard strategic spots on the sea lanes.”

12) Why do the states want to control Africa, the Middle East, Southern India and Indonesia? Explain. (p195)

All of the disputed territories contain valuable minerals, and some of them yield important vegetable products such as rubber. But most of all, they contain a bottomless supply of cheap labour.

13) The book states that “the labor of the exploited people around the Equator is not really necessary to the world’s economy.” If so, then why capture them at all? (p196)

By their labour, the slave populations allow the tempo of continuous warfare to be speeded up.

15) Explain how the following quote relates to the aim of the Inner Party: “But it was clear that an all round increase in wealth threatened the destruction-indeed, in some sense was the destruction-of a hierarchical society.” (p197)

16) According to the book, what happens if leisure and security are enjoyed by all alike? (p198)

The great mass of human beings who are normally stupefied by poverty would become literate and would learn to think for themselves; and when once they have done this, they would sooner or later realise that the privileged minority had no function and they would sweep it away.

17) According to the book, a hierarchical society was only possible based on what? (p198)

A hierarchical society would only be possible of basis or poverty and ignorance.

18) According to the book, how do you “keep the wheels of industry turning without increasing the real wealth of the world? (p198)

According to the book, goods must be produced, but the must not be distributed. And the only way to achieve this is continuous welfare.

19) According to the book, what is the essential act of war? (p198)

The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but the product of human labour.

20) According to the book, why is the manufacturing of weapons convenient? (p199)

Manufacturing of weapons is a convenient way of expending labour power without producing anything that can be consumed.

21) According to the book, what important reason does the state have for not ordering its citizens to build pyramids or temples instead of weapons if the aim is just to keep them busy? Whose morale is most important? (p200)

It is important for the citizens not to build pyramids or temples because this would provide only the economic and not the emotional basis for a hierarchical society.

22) According to the book where is the hysteria and hatred of the enemy strongest? How does what you’ve learned about doublethink relate to this? (p200)

Hysteria and hatred is strongest in the Inner Party. Because hatred for the enemy is strongest in the Inner Party, and they are the ones who know what is actually happening with the “enemy”, this is doublethink.

23) What is one of the few remaining activities for an inventive mind? (p201)

The search for new weapons.

24) What are the two aims of the Party? (p201)

·To conquer the whole surface of the earth

·To extinguish once and for all the possibility of independent thought

25) What are the two great problems for the Party to overcome? (p201)

·How to discover against his will what another human being is thinking

·How to kill several hundred million people in a few seconds without giving warning beforehand